Regional conference “Security Transitions in the Western Balkans: From Conflict Zone to Security Community?” in Skopje has brought together think tanks from Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro and Croatia.
The success of police cooperation in the Western Balkans and the vision of regional security cooperation from the perspective of diplomats, soldiers and academics were the subjects of a regional conference organized by the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy and Analytica from Skopje.
During the discussion on the success of police cooperation in the Western Balkans it was stated that international actors play a positive role, but that it is also important that there are internal factors which will encourage collaboration. It was pointed out that the common problems, such as transnational crime, require joint solutions, i.e. cooperation. The panelists also pointed out that it is impossible to think about national security, without thinking about regional security.
As the biggest success of regional security cooperation it was stated the fact that the possibility of a new armed conflict practically does not exist, but the question remains whether regional cooperation is sustainable and whether it will exist when there will not be any external pressure (EU conditioning).
The panel discussion was based on original empirical findings from a joint research project "Security transitions in the Western Balkans - From Conflict Zone to Security Community?", funded by the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI).
The speakers were:
- Sonja Stojanović Gajić, BCBP, Belgrade
- Cvete Koneska, Analytica, Skopje
- Sandro Knezović, Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO), Zagreb
- Donika Emini, Kosovo Centre for Security Studies (KCSS), Pristina
- Dženita Brčvak, Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM), Podgorica
- Arjan Dyrmishi, Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM), Tirana
- Denis Hadžović, Centre for Security Studies (CSS), Sarajevo
- Filip Ejdus, BCBP, Belgrade.